Woman Withdraws Plea Deal in Federal Fraud Case

Published: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 10:48 p.m.

ORLANDO | Last month, a former Bartow woman admitted in court documents that she stole between $2.5 million and $7 million from investors in a Ponzi scheme.

But now she's changed her mind.

At an arraignment hearing Wednesday in Orlando, Tina Louise Mangiardi pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of conducting a prohibited monetary transaction, according to court records. Mangiardi, 50, of Orlando, is the owner of TLM Design & Construction.

The case is assigned to Judge Gregory Presnell and a trial date has been set for May 1, court records show.

It wasn't immediately clear why Mangiardi changed her plea at the hearing. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted. Under the original plea agreement, which had not been agreed to by a judge, prosecutors agreed they would not oppose a punishment at the low end of sentencing guide-lines.

Federal Magistrate David Baker allowed Mangiardi to remain free on $100,000 bail if she met certain conditions, which included the surrender of her passport, wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, no travel outside the court's district, no financial transactions greater than $500 and no construction bid-bond transactions, court records showed.

However, following the hearing, Mangiardi was arrested on a contempt of court charge by Orlando police and booked into the Orange County Jail, according to jail records. Her bail was set at $25,000 in that case.

An Orlando television station reported that the contempt charge stemmed from Mangiardi failing to pay a $300,000 judgment against her last year.

The hearing Wednesday was attended by more than a dozen people claiming to be Mangiardi's victims, according to Sherise Wheelis, whose mother, Mary Dunn, also claims to be a victim in the case.

Dunn's ordeal was profiled by The Ledger last year, along with that of others in the Orlando area who say they are victims and who have sued Mangiardi for taking their money.

In a four-page statement of facts issued with the original plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said that between 2009 and 2012 Mangiardi "fraudulently obtained between $2,500,000 and $7,000,000 from investors."

The plea agreement said as part of her deal Mangiardi had to agree to the statement, which she signed.

During that time, prosecutors reported, Mangiardi convinced her victims to invest large sums of money in a construction bid-bond invest-ment.

Wheelis, of Lakeland, said it was good to see Mangiardi finally in court.

"There were a lot of people there for the victims," she said. "It's crazy. She had her back to us the whole time."

[ Jeremy Maready can be reached at jeremy.maready @theledger.com or 863-802-7592. ]

<p>ORLANDO | Last month, a former Bartow woman admitted in court documents that she stole between $2.5 million and $7 million from investors in a Ponzi scheme.</p><p>But now she's changed her mind.</p><p>At an arraignment hearing Wednesday in Orlando, Tina Louise Mangiardi pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of conducting a prohibited monetary transaction, according to court records. Mangiardi, 50, of Orlando, is the owner of TLM Design & Construction.</p><p>The case is assigned to Judge Gregory Presnell and a trial date has been set for May 1, court records show.</p><p>It wasn't immediately clear why Mangiardi changed her plea at the hearing. She faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted. Under the original plea agreement, which had not been agreed to by a judge, prosecutors agreed they would not oppose a punishment at the low end of sentencing guide-lines.</p><p>Federal Magistrate David Baker allowed Mangiardi to remain free on $100,000 bail if she met certain conditions, which included the surrender of her passport, wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, no travel outside the court's district, no financial transactions greater than $500 and no construction bid-bond transactions, court records showed.</p><p>However, following the hearing, Mangiardi was arrested on a contempt of court charge by Orlando police and booked into the Orange County Jail, according to jail records. Her bail was set at $25,000 in that case.</p><p>An Orlando television station reported that the contempt charge stemmed from Mangiardi failing to pay a $300,000 judgment against her last year.</p><p>The hearing Wednesday was attended by more than a dozen people claiming to be Mangiardi's victims, according to Sherise Wheelis, whose mother, Mary Dunn, also claims to be a victim in the case.</p><p>Dunn's ordeal was profiled by The Ledger last year, along with that of others in the Orlando area who say they are victims and who have sued Mangiardi for taking their money.</p><p>In a four-page statement of facts issued with the original plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said that between 2009 and 2012 Mangiardi "fraudulently obtained between $2,500,000 and $7,000,000 from investors."</p><p>The plea agreement said as part of her deal Mangiardi had to agree to the statement, which she signed.</p><p>During that time, prosecutors reported, Mangiardi convinced her victims to invest large sums of money in a construction bid-bond invest-ment.</p><p>Wheelis, of Lakeland, said it was good to see Mangiardi finally in court.</p><p>"There were a lot of people there for the victims," she said. "It's crazy. She had her back to us the whole time."</p><p>[ Jeremy Maready can be reached at jeremy.maready @theledger.com or 863-802-7592. ]</p>